Chasing Hope
by Daisy Bokoblin
Summary: "If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world? Just forget everything?" Daisy frowned lightly at his question, turning her head to face her love. "What prompted that question?" Marth bit his lip, eyes never leaving the stars, "I'm just…" He gave a defeated sigh, "It's nothing." (part of project "A Collection", inspired by "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol)


**AN- I don't own the song or characters. (if you want to know what project "A Collection" is, go to my profile.)**

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"So… Nice night." Stars sparkling in a vast expanse of blackness, crickets creating a soft symphony echoing into the cool nighttime. Yes, it really was a wondrous night to be enjoyed by anyone who happened to venture out into it.

"I suppose," he muttered lightly in response, staring at the stars from his grounded vantage point. Lying on a hillside at the midnight hour really was enjoyable, and a very good way to escape one's troubles and pains.

The woman who spoke previously frowned slightly, even though she knew he couldn't see it, as he wasn't looking at her face, but at the sky.

"You 'suppose'?" The woman said, slender hands moving to her hips. "Is something bothering you, Marth?"

Marth didn't respond to the soft-spoken question immediately, letting the words hang in the breezy night air. She knew that his mind didn't go to the words themselves, but the way she had said them to him; the tone, inflection, any hidden meaning she might have had. She knew he couldn't really help himself from doing it; it was as much a part of him as his feelings, or the mind he used to ponder the words.

"No," Marth finally responded to her question, though his tone implied he knew she wasn't about to believe him; especially since had taken so long to respond (a surefire sign something was, in fact, bothering him). "Nothing's wrong."

"I don't believe you," the woman shook her head, walking to the prince's side before lowering herself to sit on the ground beside him.

"Why not?" Marth cast a sideways glance at the woman, who was lying by his side at that point, beside him on the hillside.

Daisy looked at the stars, eyes roaming through the fields of diamonds twinkling in the sea of darkness. She considered telling him 'why not', but she knew that he knew. The prince wasn't an idiot.

"You know why," the princess of Sarasaland said quietly, hands clasping one another in her lap, "you're not dumb."

Marth chuckled humorlessly, "Perhaps I'm not."

Daisy turned onto her right side to face him, the man she'd gotten to know over years of brawls. "Why only 'perhaps'?"

Marth shrugged slightly, and Daisy knew it was a sign he didn't want to talk, so she rolled onto her back again. They lay on the hillside in the quiet, a quiet only kept from being a silence by the crickets and other nightlife creatures singing their personal songs.

Daisy's thoughts wandered, idly dancing through her head. She thought of how she exited the mansion when she learned that the prince was outside; she remembered the day that the man she'd come to call one of her best friends asked her on a date, and she accepted (eventually); she thought of the first time she and him first fought on the battlefield; and she thought of the day they had met.

A small smile graced her lips when she thought about the time when Marth approached her nervously, the day when he asked her to accompany him to dinner. At first, she politely declined; after all, everyone back home expected Princess Daisy to eventually marry Luigi Mario, the plumber hero. Not that she was in love with Luigi, or that he loved her; he was her best friend, and she was his. There was nothing more, but everyone thought that there was. So she turned down Marth Lowell when he asked her out, watching his expression turn slightly disappointed before being replaced by a look of understanding. The understanding he had shown hurt her feelings, for some reason she didn't know then (of course, later on she realized that she actually _wanted_ to be with the blue haired prince, thus causing his understanding of her decision to hurt her unintentionally). So, not three days later, she approached him and accepted his dinner offer.

Marth sighed softly, causing Daisy's memories to dissipate into the nothingness of her subconscious.

"If I lay here," he whispered, his voice sounding pained, "if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world? Just forget everything?"

Daisy frowned lightly, turning her head to face her love. "What prompted that question?"

Marth bit his lip, eyes never leaving the stars, "I'm just…" He gave a defeated sigh, "It's nothing."

Daisy scooched closer to Marth, her hand reaching out to grasp his reassuringly. "Marth," she smiled, giving his hand a squeeze, "you know you can tell me anything."

When the prince didn't respond again, eyes searching the stars, she sat up and leaned over his face, her orange-brown hair brushing his cheeks lightly. "Marth, if you don't tell me what's going on," she gave a barely teasing, immensely hopeful smirk, "I will go inside and leave you out here for the bears."

Marth smiled, humored, and Daisy felt a sense of relief go through her. As quickly as the smile came, however, it fled from his face, being replaced by a serious, pained look.

"Do you really want to know?" He said softly, staring up into her eyes.

She nodded, lips tugging up in a sweet smile.

With a quiet sigh, he nodded. "…Alright." There was silence for another moment, and Daisy lay back down, this time resting her head on his chest. "I have to go back to Altea."

The words were like a Piranha Plant popping out of a hidden pipe, biting her in the arm with all its might. "…Back?" She whispered, not daring to look at his face. "What do you mean?"

"There are some problems going on in my kingdom. They need a king." She felt his hand start running through her soft auburn hair, "And I'm their king. Or, at least, I will be once I return. I'm still only their prince."

"Oh." Daisy felt a lump building in her throat, "Okay. I get it. That's fine, you have to go back. Perfectly understandable."

"…You know what that means, don't you?" Marth's voice was soft, and Daisy wanted nothing more than to ignore the meaning of the words themselves and instead just let his voice wash over her, embrace her. "I have to leave the mansion. I don't know when I'll be able to come back, if at all." There was silence, before he whispered, "I probably won't be able to."

Daisy couldn't help it anymore; she looked up at his face. It was like looking in a mirror that only reflected a person's emotions; all the pain she held, the hurt, the love… it was all there.

"Take me with you." She whispered, holding onto him like he was her only lifeline. "Please, just take me with you."

Marth's eyes were filled with a dull sort of hope, the kind of hope that had long ago been defeated. "I can't."

Daisy felt deflated, like the air had been kicked out of her. "But why?"

"You have your own kingdom," Marth said, eyes never leaving hers, "you can't just abandon it for me. Your people need you as much as mine need me. That would be cruel, to leave them like that."

Anger suddenly ran hot through her veins, and she sat up like lightning. "You don't know that!" Her voice was filled with it, the anger, and she knew it caught her love off-guard (especially since it wasn't directed at him). "I have advisors who have been running the kingdom just fine ever since I left! They can continue running it; I can go with you! My people will be-" Her voice hitched, and she realized there were tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "Let me go with you," she whispered, choking on her sobs.

Marth opened his mouth to say something, but then seemed to think better of it and instead just pulled Daisy into a tight hug. No words were spoken, the princess's sobs travelling out into the world only to be swallowed whole by the nighttime noises.

Eventually Daisy calmed herself, her cries quieting, her thoughts clearing. She knew that it would be irrational to go with Marth. She didn't know for sure that her advisors could run a kingdom fulltime, and Marth's people didn't know her. She would be a foreign royal in an already tumultuous land; not exactly a good combination.

But maybe, just maybe, there was another option.

"Marth," she whispered, unsure if the man was asleep since she still was in his slack embrace, head resting on his chest again, "are you awake?"

"Mhmm," he readjusted slightly, and by the way he responded, Daisy could tell he had been half-asleep. "What is it?"

"I- I have an idea," she moved her head off of her love and instead rested it on the lawn, both royals lying side by side.

"…What?" His voice was hesitant.

"What if the Mushroom Kingdom expanded itself?" She turned her face to look at him, and noticed he had already been facing her.

His facial expression became confused at her words. "Expanded?"

"Well," she started explaining her idea, "Peach has told me that she's always thought she could handle a kingdom twice the Mushroom Kingdom's size, and I just figured, well, I could let her rule Sarasaland as well. Then I could go with you to Altea."

The prince was silent, obviously pondering her words. That hope from before came back, the hope that she would be able to stay side by side with her love.

"…I suppose it could work," he finally said, though his tone was hesitant.

"Why do you sound unsure?" Daisy asked, already predicting that her hope was about to be crushed by his response.

Marth frowned, "Well, I know it's not my place to say such things, but I'm not sure Peach would be able to deal with a kingdom twice the size of the one she's ruling now. I mean, Bowser seems to kidnap her too often for her to properly rule the kingdom…"

As much as Daisy wanted to prove him wrong, she knew there was truth in his words. So she rebutted his argument with one of her own. "I believe she'd be able to handle it, especially since she and Mario will be married soon." Daisy smiled, "I'm sure Bowser would have quite the hard time capturing Peach if Mario's living in the castle with her."

Marth was silent yet again, and Daisy could tell he was contemplating it. And then he smiled, causing a beautiful flourish of her hope.

"I think it might work," he said quietly, smile growing. "I think it just might." He looked at the sky, his face falling slightly. "That would mean you'd have to give up everything you've ever known, though, to join me in Altea. I couldn't ask that of you-"

"You don't have to ask," Daisy smiled, putting a finger on his lips to silence him, "I'm doing it because I _want_ to."

Marth gave a soft smile, "Really?"

Daisy leaned forward and gave him a peck on the lips. "Really."

In that moment, they shared a look, and Daisy grinned. She could tell, she could just tell; he fully believed her plan would work.

Her hope was huge, alive, and wondrous. Her plan could work. There was a possibility. She would be able to stay with Marth, to _love_ Marth, for as long as they both lived.

With a gentle smile, Marth leaned forward and pressed his lips on hers, and they shared their best kiss yet.

This kiss was the best because it was not only full of their love, but also contained something better.

It contained their hope.

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 **AN- Soooo... New pairing? Yaaay? ...Maybe? LET'S ALL START SHIPPING THEM! XD**

 **Anyways, yes, you did just read a Marth/Daisy story (unless you didn't read it and just scrolled down to the AN...). Yes, I actually ship them (even though I once told a couple of people I don't ship them; I ended up changing my mind on them), even if they don't beat some of my more main ships (Luigi/Daisy and Marth/Samus are adooorable! ^_^)**

 **Now, I actually promised two different people I'd write something starring one of their favorite pairings... And this fic is for neither of them. If you two are reading this (you know who you are), don't worry! I'm still writing your pairing fics, and they will come out at some point! I'm just taking a long time with them... Sorry!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this oneshot (I'm not sure how I feel about the ending), and thanks for reading! :D**


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